Recently, there has been a disturbing increase in the number of natural disasters:
for example, in 1998, Hurricane Mitch caused 7,500 deaths in El Salvador,
Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua, and flooding in China affected 180
million people, destroyed nearly seven million homes, and killed close to 4,000
people. In 1999, a cyclone in India affected 10–15 million people and killed
10,000; and in 2000, floods in Mozambique left 330,000 homeless, and killed
500 people.
Natural disasters of medium size and stronger caused at least 25,000 deaths
around the world in 2001, more than double the number of the previous year, and
economic losses of US $36 billion. More recently, human-made and natural
disasters in 2004 claimed more than 21,000 lives worldwide and economic losses
of US $105 billion. The year 2005 further tested the international relief
community with ‘unparalleled frequency and scale of natural disaster’; Hurricane
Katrina alone destroyed 300,000 homes, displaced 770,000 people, and cost US
$200 billion.
In the future, climate change is likely to mean higher maximum temperatures
and more intense precipitation (with concomitant increased avalanches, floods,
mudslides, etc.). Because disaster response professionals and emergency
managers from all levels of government, the military, the private sector, and
volunteer organizations are often the first people ‘on the ground’
during/following an extreme weather event, this paper will explore what climate
change may mean for disaster managers, how climate change may affect the
environments in which they work, and how best to reduce risks, and save lives.
Keywords: climate change, heat waves, extreme weather events, disaster
management.